While Googling a name for work, WTAE Channel 4 Action News investigator Paul Van Osdol noticed that one of the hits he got was a link to a supposedly confidential page on the Pittsburgh Police Bureau's tips website.

From there, he was able to find dozens of other tips going back more than a year, with names and email addresses of tipsters and details about alleged crimes.

One tip was about alleged drug and prostitution activity in a Homewood neighborhood. It included the email address and phone number of the person who submitted the tip.

"It's supposed to be anonymous, and nobody is supposed to know at all who these people are that's giving away these tips," said the man, whose identity is being protected by WTAE. "I do believe it could be an endangerment to other people's lives."

When Van Osdol notified city officials of the security hole in the website on Wednesday, they immediately began trying to fix it and investigating how it happened.

"We do believe this is not a problem inherent in the system. We believe we have been hacked," said Kate DeSimone, of the city's information services office.

"We need that information. That communication from people provides direct resources to our officers. It's the eyes and ears on the street," said City Councilman Bill Peduto, a mayoral candidate. "Obviously, information like this should never be made available."

Most of the tips are regarding allegations of drug activity in city neighborhoods, including a block in Lawrenceville and a stretch of Federal Street on the North Side.

The tipster who talked with Van Osdol said the city should not have left him exposed to potential harm from criminals: "Their responsibility should be totally to make sure that it is secure, can't nobody hack into this system, and definitely not put it out so anyone in the public can see who is turning in names, addresses and activity going on in the neighborhood."

Hours after it was brought to the city's attention, Van Osdol checked the website again and saw that the security breach appeared to have been closed. City officials told him that they don't think any person who submitted a tip has been harmed by the breach.